Now, I happen to prefer my coffee on the hot side. In fact, I visit my coffee pot frequently in the mornings for warm ups. But I wasn’t exactly sure what “very hot” tasted like, and I certainly had no idea just how hot my usual cup-o-joe was.

So, I did some research of my own.

I poured a cup of coffee from a freshly brewed carafe and tested the temperature. It registered at 160 degrees.

It turns out that “very hot” is quite hot indeed. I don’t know about you, but I find it nearly impossible to gulp–or even drink–coffee at this temperature. More often than not, I find myself sipping it or letting it sit for a few minutes before testing it again.

And that’s a natural response. Our bodies seem to know better than to drink very hot beverages. Similar to pulling our hand away from a hot dish, waiting for hot beverages to cool before drinking them is sort of a no-brainer.

What I also discovered is that the 160-degree cup of coffee cooled rather quickly. In just 5 minutes, it had cooled to 140 degrees – well below the so-called danger zone. And at 140 degrees, I still considered it hot and quite enjoyable.

In case you’re wondering, the infamous hot coffee lawsuit back in 1994 involved a 79-year-old woman who suffered 3rd degree burns after accidentally spilling a cup of coffee at McDonald’s. The coffee registered at 180 to 190 degrees – very, very hot indeed.

All of that aside, and perhaps even ironically, drinking coffee was my self-care practice for the day. It has become part of my daily routine–one that I look forward to each morning. As I sip on my hot (but not too hot) cup of coffee, I review my goals, vision board, and plan for the day. Coffee helps me ease into the morning.

How do you warm up for your day?

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Stacy Fisher-Gunn

I’m the founder of Living Upp, a self-care planning and design company that teaches individuals and organizations how live up to their fullest potential using a unique 8-dimensional self-care system that I developed. I’m an author, speaker, and self-care designer with 18+ years of experience in the healthcare industry as a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator.